Together We Can Conquer
by Hermione's twin
Summary: This is a story about Lauren (her POV). Her parents were killed by Voldemort, and because of family, she has to go to Hogwarts. Little did she know, that she was going to be one of the four that fight to conquer Voldemort forever! PLEEZ R/R!!!
1. The Dark Mark

A/N: This is from Lauren's POV. I think it will be good, but its only my second fic eva   
so if it sucks I'm sorry. Pleez review. I don't care if u flame me. Just tell me why it was so   
horrible so I can work on it! Thanx and enjoy! Ah! Gotta run the mental instition people are   
chasing me again! Now to the story......  
  
  
Chapter 1: The Dark Mark  
  
  
  
"Lauren, there's an owl flying around in the kitchen! How do I take the letter   
again?" yelled my mom as she approached the owl.  
  
"Mom, I'll do it," I said trying to keep from laughing at the site. My mom was   
looking at the owl like it was going to bite her and the owl was frightened by her   
expression. She still hasn't gotten used to owl post after 5 years......  
  
As soon as I walked in, the owl flew to me and landed on my shoulder. She lifted   
her leg and looked at me as if to say "Here take it. I'm wanna get outta of here." I took   
the letter and she flew away as fast as she could.  
  
I sat down at the table and opened my letter. It was from Mary (one of my best   
friends. She's a witch too, but her parents aren't muggles like mine. At least I have a   
wizard uncle, but I've never met him). The letter said:  
  
  
Dear Lauren,  
  
Sup girl? Well anywayz can u come wit Alexis and me to Mystical Alley today at   
noon! Pleez. Pretty pleez. It'll be fun! Well ask you mom and send a letter back wit Fidget   
(unless you scared her away again) Ok well hurry. I'm waited for the letter from   
Fidget or Moonlight.  
~lata~ Mary  
  
  
"Mom, can I go? Please! Come on, please! I'll have soooo much fun! A day in   
Mystical Alley with me two best friends! Please!!!!!!" I begged. I wanted to go so bad. A   
day of fun without getting our schoolbooks!   
  
"Well..... I'll think about it. Let me go ask your father." My mom said before she   
started going upstairs to talk to Dad.  
  
I waited downstairs for about 5 minutes (it seemed like an hour to me) waiting for   
their answer. Finally, my mom and dad came down stairs and.......  
  
"Ok, you can go, but...." Said my mom but I didn't let her finish the sentence.  
  
I ran over to them and hugged them. " I love you soo much, mom and dad! Thank   
you!"  
  
"Be home by 1:30." My dad finished and gave me a big smile.  
  
I ran upstairs to write a letter back to Mary.  
  
  
Dear Mary,  
  
Guess what? I can go! I'm soo happy! Meet ya at Crazytown's Joke Factory! C ya   
soon.  
  
* Bye * Lauren  
  
  
I walked over to Moonlight, my snowy owl, and put the letter on her foot. I said,   
take this to Mary, opened the window, and out she flew. I watched her fly until she was   
out of site.  
  
At 11:40 my dad started driving me to Mystical Alley. When we got there, I   
realized I had left my wand at home. I groaned loudly. How was I going to get in? Just   
then I saw Alexis walk up. Oh, good. I can get in with her.   
  
"Bye dad. See ya at 1:30. Mary's dropping me off, so you don't have to worry   
about picking me up." I told him before kissing him and going catch up with Lexis.  
  
I ran over to Alexis and said," Hey girl! Sup? I forget my wand at home and I   
need you to get me in Mystical Alley."  
  
Lexie said, "Just like you to forget your wand, but I guess I'll use my wand for   
both of us inside." We cracked up laughing. It was true. I always forget the most obvious   
things. Example: my wand.  
  
We walked to Crazytown's Joke Factory and waited for Mary. We didn't have to   
wait long. Mary got there less than 5 min. after us.  
  
The first place we went to was Crazytown because it was closest. I loaded up on   
pranks. That was one of my favorite things to do: play jokes on people. I spent 5 Galleons   
there. Mary and Lexie spent 2 Galleons each. They weren't pranksters though. It was   
"defense" pranks to get back at me that they wanted.  
  
We went to Quidditch Everything (we all love Quidditch), Candy for all, One   
Stop Pet Place, and about 5 other shops. Before we knew it was 1:25 and time to go wait   
for Mary's mom to come pick us up.  
  
We had to wait in the "Safe Place". The "Safe Place" is an area that is protected   
by many charms and spells. Ever since Voldemort had started becoming powerful again,   
there were many knew rules. Ex: You have to wait in the "Safe Place" for you parents.  
  
The three of us saw Mary's car and started walking to it. When we got in, we   
talked about how wonderful a time we had. It was wonderful too. Except for one thing. I   
spent 20 Galleons. A month savings gone. Oh well. It was worth it. Everything   
was so perfect.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
Something was wrong. SOMETHING WAS VERY WRONG! I felt it before we   
saw my house. I tried to shake it off, but it stayed. Something was definitely wrong.  
  
We got to my house and people were surrounding it. My heart was pounding. I   
looked up and saw...... I felt faint. It was the Dark Mark.  
  
  
  
A/N : Cliffhanger! Ahh! Please review and tell me what you think. Honestly. Oh and   
anything you recognized is not mine. It belongs to J.K Rowling. Hoped you liked it so   
far! Gotta go, the mental instition people are after me again!  
  



	2. Uncle at Hogwarts

Chapter 2: Uncle at Hogwarts  
  
  
  
  
Please tell me I'm seeing things. That Can't be the Dark Mark at my house. There Must be a mistake. I rub my eyes but it is still there. I rub them harder, but it hasn't gone away. Oh no. I'm not seeing things. It's not a mistake.   
  
"Noooooooooo," I screamed just before fainting.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A person from the Ministry walks to Mary's mom and asks, "Will you explain to the child what happened when she wakes up? She'll probably take it slightly better from you."  
  
"Okay. I will. But what exactly happened?" Elizabeth asks shakily.  
  
"The wizard neighbors called us and told us that something was happening next door. When we arrived there was the Dark Mark over the house. We went inside and found her parents dead. They were apparently killed by You-Know-Who with the Avada Kedavra curse. We also found a wand. It was snapped in two. I think it belonged to this girl. I suggest that you take her home and try your best to comfort her. She'll be in shock for a while. Later we'll decide what to do with her," replied the man.  
  
"I'll do my best. Is that all you can do for us right now?" asked a still rather shaken Elizabeth.  
  
"Yes. I'm afraid it is. I'll owl you with any new things we find," he answered.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll go home now," says Elizabeth while breaking down in sobs.  
  
"Good luck, mam. I'm terribly sorry," said the Minister.  
  
Elizabeth picked up the still unconscious Lauren and put her in the car. It was silent. No one knew what to say. They only noise was the sobs every now and then. They were all trying not to cry.  
  
They reached Alexis's house and Alexis ran to it. She started telling her mom what had happened very fast. Susan was shocked. She walked outside to talk to Elizabeth.  
  
"It's true, then," Susan said shocked.  
  
"Yes." Elizabeth said. She didn't know what else to say.  
  
There was a long silence.   
  
"I guess I'll bring Mary and ................ Lauren home," said Elizabeth dully. "See you sometime."  
  
"Yeah. Well, bye," agreed Susan blankly.  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
"Wha? What happened?" I groaned. I had a bad headache and the urge to throw up.  
  
"Oh, good morning dear. How do you feel?" questioned Elizabeth as cheerfully as possible.  
  
"Not very good. Where am I? How come I'm not at home?" I asked. I was very confused. Then I remembered the horrible nightmare I had last night. I had dreamed that I went home and the Dark Mark was over my house. And my parents had died. I decided to tell Mary's mom about it.  
  
"Guess what, Mrs. Mathitz. I had the strangest nightmare last night. I dreamed that when we went home my parents had died and there was the Dark Mark over my house."  
  
"It wasn't a dream." Mary's mom muttered very quietly.  
  
If I thought I felt sick before, it was nothing to what I felt now. I felt like I was about to die. I let out a huge groan.  
  
"You're kidding, right?" I asked her even though I knew she wasn't. I wanted her to say yes so bad, but I knew she wouldn't.  
  
"I am so sorry, Lauren, dear. I wish I was," she replied sadly, "but lets try to think about that later and just worry about getting you better."  
  
How could I not think about it? All that kept playing in my mind was 'my parents are dead, my parents are dead'. I couldn't accept it, but I somehow knew it was true.  
  
"What's going to happen to me?" I asked shakily.  
  
"Well, you'll stay with us for a while. Then I guess you'll start living with a family member..." she replied just as shaken. "I'm going to leave you alone for a little while okay? Just call if you want to talk to me."  
  
As soon as she left, more tears then I had ever cried in my life put together spilled down my cheeks. How could this be true? Why me? I sobbed and sobbed for a long time. I don't know how long it was, but I do know that the only reason I stopped crying was because there weren't any tears in my eyes left to cry. I felt so alone and abandoned. I didn't know what to do, so I went back to sleep.  
  
I woke up to my stomach growling. I hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch and I was tremendously hungry. I went downstairs and asked when dinner would be ready.  
  
"It will be ready in about 5 minutes, honey." Mrs. Elizabeth answered kindly.  
  
"Okay," I said flatly as I sat down at the table.  
  
"Lauren, I've noticed you've been depressed lately. That's very understandable of course. But I was wondering if you want to go to some counseling?" Mary's mom asked in voice that said 'I don't know what to do, but I want to help.'  
  
"No thanks, Mrs. Mathitz. I don't think it will help." I answered in a voice that I hope said 'thanks for trying though.'   
  
"Would you please go get Mary from the backyard? Dinner's ready." Mary's mom said soothingly.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Mary, dinner time." Mary looked at me with a distressed face.  
  
"How are you Lauren? You must be hurting something awful. I am so sorry that it had to happen. You okay? Really?" Mary asked painfully.   
  
"I guess I'm okay. Not really. I don't know what to do! I am so confused. How am I supposed to get over this, Mary? Huh? What am I going to do?" I asked as I started crying again.  
  
"I..... I don't know. But you will. We'll do it together. I promise." She said looking while looking into my blue eyes.  
  
She didn't know this, but that was the best thing I'd heard in a long time. Exactly what I needed. I walked toward her and we hugged each other. Both of us crying on the other's shoulder. It felt so good to cry and be comforted by my best friend. It helped me a lot.  
  
As we walked towards the house, I felt better. Not all the way. No, that wouldn't come for a long time. But it was an improvement.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
During our dinner (it was spaghetti), we decided that the next day we'd go back to my house and get everything. It would be very painful, but somehow I felt like I would feel better when it was done.  
  
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Right before I got into bed, I saw 2 owls flying outside my window. One of them was Moonlight. She didn't have a letter. She just wanted food and not to be all by herself in my house. I had never seen the other owl before. It was a big barn owl. I took the letter off its leg. The letter read:  
  
  
Dear Lauren,  
I know that you don't know me, but you will. I am your uncle. Yes, I am a wizard, and yes, I just found out about your parents death. I am very sorry. But I can't express myself too much in a letter. I am Headmaster of a wizarding school. It is called Hogwarts. Perhaps you have heard of Hogwarts or perhaps not. I think it would be best if come here next year instead of going back to your usual school. I will meet with you on July 4 at the house you are staying at. You will continue to stay there until school starts. I love you very much.  
  
Your loving uncle,  
Albus Dumbledore  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: I hope you liked it. PLEEZ R/R and tell me what you think about it. PLEEZ. PRETTY PLEEZ!!!!! Okay you get the pic.  
  
  
Disclaimer: You know I don't own Harry Potter and anything else you recognized but..........   



	3. Dealing with Death

Chapter 3: Dealing with Death  
  
  
  
"Mrs. Mathitz!" I yelled with surprise. I reread the letter and tried to let it sink in. Albus Dumbledore - my uncle? Shocking.  
  
"What is it, dear?" she asked. Her face was pale. She seemed to think someone was attacking me or something.  
  
I handed her the letter. As she read it, her face lit up with surprise. "Albus Dumbledore, come here? Your uncle? Well, isn't this odd!" she exclaimed excitedly.  
  
By then Mary had arrived in my room. "What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing's wrong dear. We just found out that Albus Dumbledore is Lauren's uncle, and he's meeting with us tomorrow." Mrs. Mathitz said smoothly.  
  
"Oh my gawd! Your uncle? That is so cool! And I'm going to meet him! Tomorrow! Wow!" Mary said while looking at me with interest.  
  
"Okay. Well time for bed now. We all need to be rested for tomorrow. Goodnight Lauren. C'mon Mary, back to bed." Mrs. Mathitz said before walking out.  
  
"'Night, Lauren." Mary said still full of interest.  
  
"'Night, Mary." I replied.  
  
Mary left to go back to her bedroom, leaving me full of questions. Why hadn't my parents told me? How come we've never met? Why didn't I know about this? I decided to ask tomorrow before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I woke up at 9:00 and didn't remember for a moment why I felt excited. Then it clicked - Mr. Dumbledore is my uncle. I wonder when he's coming? He didn't say a time in the letter. Oh well. I'll see him when he gets here. I walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth, put in my contacts, brush my hair, etc. When I was done, I walked downstairs for some breakfast. Geez I was hungry.  
  
I sat down at the table and asked, "What's for breakfast, Mrs. Elizabeth?"  
  
"Pancakes, sweetie," she replied obviously happy I had regained my appetite.   
  
She served me 3 huge pancakes and I was very happy. Pancakes were my favorite breakfast food! Mary came down a few minutes later, and asked if Mr. Dumbledore had arrived yet.   
  
As soon as we were done eating we heard a noise behind us and there was Mr. Albus. He had just apparated here! I stood up and said, "Mr. Dumbledore are you really my uncle?"  
  
"Yes, Lauren, I am, and please call me Uncle Albus." He said with a twinkle in his eyes.  
  
"But how come my parents didn't tell me about you?" I asked.  
  
"They were planning on telling you. They just didn't want to tell you earlier because they loved you so much. They didn't want you to go all the way to Britain to go to school while they were in America. They thought they'd miss you too much." Mr. No Uncle Albus explained.  
  
This made sense to me. It's true. They didn't ever want me to go very far away from them. I nodded in agreement, then said, "What's going to happen to their money, and the house, and everything else?"  
  
Uncle Albus said, "Now don't you worry about that. I've taken care of all of it. I've paid all the expenses and put their money in Gringotts. The house, well, if it's okay with you, we'll sell it. I've arranged the funeral. It will be tomorrow at 5:00, but if you want to change it, we can. We can keep whatever you want from the house. We can take everything if that's what you want to do. Okay?"  
  
I didn't know what to say. He really had taken care of all of it. I was very relieved. I ended up saying, "Yeah we can sell the house, but can I make sure that I like the people that buy it?"  
  
"Sure, honey." Uncle Albus replied and I thought I saw a smile flicker on his face. I wondered why. Then he continued, "We'll post it in the House Hunters section of Witch Weekly."  
  
I smiled. How did he know that was exactly where I wanted to list it? I asked him sort of shakily, "Can we go to my house and go through it today?"  
  
"Absolutely," Uncle Albus replied.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I was looking at everything in my house: my room, my parents' room, everything. I started crying uncontrollably, but Uncle Albus was there to help comfort me, and it worked. He swept me up in a big bear hug, and let me cry my eyes out on his shoulder. I am almost positive that I felt him cry some, too.  
  
When I was done crying, I had made my decision about what to keep and what not to keep. I decided that I wanted to keep everything, except the furniture that wasn't mine.  
  
Uncle Albus waved his wand and muttered 'boxelimus'. This spell packed everything that I wanted to keep in neat boxes.   
  
I looked at my snapped wand and wondered. Why would Voldemort snap my wand? I asked Uncle Albus.  
  
He said, "I don't know Lauren. Maybe it wasn't him that snapped it. Maybe it was fate taking over, because there might be a more powerful wand waiting for you."  
  
I thought about what he said and didn't know what to think about the matter.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
Uncle Albus walked up to the counter with me and said, "I'd like to place an ad in the House Hunters section."  
  
"Okay, si - Albus Dumbledore? Right then, follow me." Said the witch behind the counter.  
  
We followed her into a room with pictures of houses lining the walls. There was a witch in the room already, waiting for us. She motioned for us to sit down in the chairs across from her.  
  
She began questioning us about the house: "What does it look like?"  
  
Uncle Albus handed her a picture of it. When she looked at it, she seemed very pleased.  
  
"How many bedrooms?"  
  
"5, 4 upstairs and 1 downstairs." I answered. She jotted something down.  
  
"How many bathrooms?"  
  
"4 - full that is" I replied. Again she quickly wrote something.  
  
"What's the address?"  
  
"# 3 Ridgewood Lane. It's on a cul-de-sac, so you can play in the street as much as you want," I told her. She scribbled something down again.  
  
"One last question - How much do you want for it?"  
  
"$375,000 (however much that is in Galleons?)" replied Uncle Albus as she wrote down the figures.  
  
"Okay, that's it. You should see the ad in next week's Witch Weekly.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
The day had gone by so fast! It was already 5:00 and time to go back to Mary's house. When we got there, Mary's mother offered Uncle Albus to spend the night with us. After some begging (mostly on my part), he accepted.  
  
At dinner, Mary and I sat next to each other and Uncle Albus sat next to Mrs. Elizabeth. Mary and I talked together through the whole dinner. She wanted to know what I did today, so I gave her a blow-by-blow account of it. Mary was jealous by the time I finished that she hadn't gotten to spend the day with Uncle Albus.   
  
I don't know what Uncle Albus and Mrs. Elizabeth talked about during dinner (steak). It must have been very interesting though because they talked the whole time. But I did catch a few phrases: Mrs. Elizabeth - 'be okay?' Uncle Albus - 'fit in fine.' It had to have been about me.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
As I was getting into bed that night, somehow I knew that everything would be okay. I had lost so much. My parents. You never realize how much you love them and how much a part of you and your life they are until they're gone. I had lost a major part of my life all because of Voldemort. He has made so many innocent people suffer. Right then and there I made an oath. I swore to get back at Voldemort if it was the last thing I would ever do. But I knew it would be all right. Somehow. I knew that I already loved Uncle Albus very very much and that he loved me back. And he would help make everything right. I got into bed singing a verse of one of my favorite muggle songs:  
  
  
Everything's gonna be all right.  
Rock-a-bye  
Rock-a-bye  
  
  
  
A/N: I hope you liked it! Please review! It took a lot of my time to write this, so pleez just take a minute and type a few words in the box below. PLEEZ!  
  
Next chapter will have the funeral along with some other things just in case you were wondering.  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
Anything you seem to know,  
Is not mine (I wish it were though).  
JKR I hope that'll do,  
So far heaven's sake please don't sue.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Always be with Me

Chapter 4: Always be with Me  
  
  
  
I woke up this morning feeling sad and nervous. Then I remembered why. It was my Mom and Dad's funeral today. As I thought about it, silent tears rolled down my face. * Why did you have to leave me? * I wondered. I felt a hatred surge towards Voldemort so intense that I was frightened by my own rage. I looked down and saw my hands trembling with anger. It took a few minutes for me to calm down and return to my usual peaceful self.   
  
I looked at the clock by my bed - what!?! Already 11:30? How'd that happen? Oh well. I guess I better hurry and get ready. I looked through my closet for what I was going to where at the service. After moving some things around, I finally found what I was looking for. It was a pretty black dress. Very simple, but elegant at the same time. Perfect!  
  
I walked downstairs and was greeted by laughter. "She lives!" exclaimed Mary jokingly, "'Bout time!" She looks at her watch and made a tutting noise. We exploded with giggles. Then I remembered what would be happening today and my happiness took a plunge.  
  
I sat down at the table for breakf - no lunch. While I was eating my chili-dog, Mary told me about what I had missed so far. "During your little snooze, your Uncle Albus and my mom talked about where you would stay for the rest of the summer. It came down to this: you can either stay with us or go with Uncle Albus. It's your choice. The arguments were - my mom: it would be good for you to stay somewhere that you were familiar with while dealing with all of this, Uncle Albus: it would also be good if you could start getting familiar with were you would going to go to school all year before it the term actually started so it wouldn't be so peculiar. I dunno, Lauren. Sounds like a tough decision to me," She concluded just as I had finished the chili-dog. Once again, I had chili all over my face. (I was a pretty sloppy eater.)  
  
I thought about my summer choices and I had absolutely no clue. How could I choose between my best friend and my uncle? I wanted to stay here, but I wanted to go there at the same time. I guess I'll think about it when the funeral's over, I'll might be able to think clearer then.  
  
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I headed upstairs to get dressed and put on my make up. It was 4:00! I needed to get a move on. The funeral is only 1 hour away! I went into the bathroom and started to put on my make up. I was sitting on the counter as I always do. Why? I don't know. It's just a habit I have. I put on light blueish eye shadow, a red blush that was on the darker side, and a dark red, but soft lipstick. The colors went so well with my olive skin, and the mascara made my already long eyelashes look even longer. (a/n: she is VERY beautiful, but she never acknowledges it.)  
  
I went back into my room to put on the dress. I loved how it fit me! It was enchanted to fit perfectly. It showed how thin I really was. (she never thinks of herself as skinny either).   
  
At last, it was time to go. We all got into the car gloomily. I was deep in thought the whole way and didn't hear much of the conversation around me. Before I knew it we were there. The weather couldn't have been better - it was not to hot or cold and there was a soft breeze that carried the scent of flowers.  
  
The priest started the service. I listened, but not really paying attention. How could I? I never really heard any of it. The only thing I was aware of was the tears streaming down my face. There seemed to be enough to fill a whole lake. But when Uncle Albus went up to say "a few words" I really paid attention and I'm glad I did. This is what he said:  
  
"Violet and John were tragically taken away from us. We are all suffering at the loss. It seems like they are gone forever, but they aren't. They will never truly leave us. They live in our hearts, watching over and guiding us. Violet and John were victims of Voldemort - a shudder went through the crowd, but not me I didn't fear his name. The day will come when we have to fight. Fight or be conquered by Voldemort forever. Times will turn very harsh and if you can't fight for the Light just for yourself, remember Violet and James and fight for them. Two innocent people murdered for no reason."  
  
The service was over. I walked up to the coffins and place a bouquet of roses on each one. I was sobbing furiously by now, Uncle Albus who was crying too swept me up in a hug and let me cry endlessly on his shoulder. It seemed like we stayed that way for hours, but it was probably only 5 - 10 minutes. I kept thinking * my parents - dead? Gone forever - no like Uncle Albus had said they would always be with me at heart. * I believed it. Uncle Albus was so Wise, he always seemed to know just what to say. And it was always comforting.   
  
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On the way home, it seemed like a block that I had developed right after Mom and Dad's death, had finally opened up again. It was like snapping out of a deep sleep. Awakening. I guess you could call it that.   
  
When we got to the house I looked up at the sky. It was already dark and the stars were out. I whispered, "I love you." A comet shot across the sky! It made me feel comfortable and at ease. It was as if Mom and Dad just said I love you too honey. I looked down at my watch. 7:00! That's it? And I already feel like it's time to go to bed! That's odd.... Oh well. I guess I'll just go to bed early tonight. Besides, I need some time to think.  
  
"Goodnight Mary, Uncle Albus, and Mrs. Elizabeth." I said when we got inside. "I'm tired, so I'm going to go to bed now. 'Night!"  
  
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I lay in bed thinking about lots of things. The thing I was thinking about most was - where was I going to choose to stay the rest of the summer? I wanted to stay in both places! Hmm..... I got it - I could spend one more week here, then go spend the rest of the summer there! Right after I made the decision, I drifted off to sleep.  
  
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I woke up to the sound of thunder. I looked at the window and saw heavy rain and lightening. The funny thing was I could still see the sun! It was shining as bright as ever too, strange. When I was little, I was afraid of the rain. Now it reminds me of sayings. My grandma used to tell me that the thunder was just angel's bowling. My mom used to say that when the sun was out while it was raining it meant the devil was dancing with his wife. I laughed hard at myself. To think that I used to believe it!   
  
I walked downstairs and looked around. I was the first one awake... this hasn't happened before. Oh well... there's a first time for everything. I went to the kitchen and started making breakfast. I started making pancakes, eggs, sausage, and some cantaloupe. I had just finished when Mary walked down.  
  
"Hey, Hail," she greeted me.   
  
Hail... My nickname. I don't know why that's what it is. It just is.  
  
"Hey Mary, how many pancakes do you want?" I asked, surprised she had used my nickname. I hadn't heard it in a long time.  
  
"3's good, I guess. Have you decided where you want to spend the summer?" replied Mary.  
  
"Yeah, I think so. How's this sound: spend another week here, then go back with Uncle Albus." I asked hopefully.  
  
"That's cool, but I was kinda hoping you'd spend a little more time with us....... But that sounds like a good plan. I'm going tell Mom, be right back." Mary said before hurrying off to go tell her mom.  
  
I smiled. Some things would never change.  
  
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After a week of giggling and good times (as good as possible with the loss of her parents still fresh at mind), it was time to leave. They would be traveling by Floo Powder to Uncle Albus's house. After some hard goodbye's:  
  
"Bye, Lauren. Don't forget me. Promise? Okay, good. Oh, and you have to remember to send lots of owls! I will send you bunch!" Mary said sadly, while trying her best to be cheerful. But if she sends me lots of owls and she's happy I'll be fine, Mary thought.  
  
Mary and I hugged as sort of a goodbye that said: till we meet again!   
  
Uncle Albus threw some of the Floo Powder into the fire, stepped in, said 'The Forgotten House', and then he was gone. With a final goodbye to Mary and her mom, I repeated the same thing Uncle Albus did. Once again, I experienced the not-so-comfortable effects of Floo Powder. Then with a thud, I was there.  
  
A look of awe spread across my face. I was going to live in this mansion? Amazing. I can't wait to go explore.  
  
"Like it? Sorry if it's a little dusty, I haven't been here in a long time. I usually just stay at the school, but now I have a reason to come home!" Uncle Albus exclaimed excitedly.  
  
  
A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed it! Sorry I won't be posting for a few days, I'm going on a short vacation. I promise 3 or so chapters as soon as I get back, and please don't forget to come back and read it! Writing's harder than it looks.... Oh and PLEEZ :: gets down on knees and begs :: PLEEZ review!!!  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
I don't own the Harry Potter series,  
Right now my eyes are sorta bleary.  
(Ahh!) Tomorrow I havta get up early  
And that will be hard, surely!  
  
(that last part was a bit of a stretch, but o well (I almost forgot, PLEEZ type something in the box below) :)  



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